Santiago Calatrava Quotes

After working in cities for nearly 40 years, I am telling you that every city can improve its quality of life in less than three years, no matter the scale or the financial conditions.

For many years, I have lived uncomfortably with the belief that most planning and architectural design suffers for lack of real and basic purpose. The ultimate purpose, it seems to me, must be the improvement of mankind.

I think architects have a major role in being responsible for illustrating what the future could be. Because of the very strong political and commercial climate, many architects are trying very hard to solve everyday issues, to respond to the authorities.

I'm about creating positive change in the communities that I come from.

Buildings should serve people, not the other way around.

I think there is a new awareness in this 21st century that design is as important to where and how we live as it is for museums, concert halls and civic buildings.

If we are to succeed, we must recognize that the community redevelopment is not solely the rehabilitation of housing, or putting a mall in the business strips.

I see my buildings as pieces of cities, and in my designs I try to make them into responsible and contributing citizens.

I feel however, that we architects have a special duty and mission... (to contribute) to the socio-cultural development of architecture and urban planning.

My passion and great enjoyment for architecture, and the reason the older I get the more I enjoy it, is because I believe we - architects - can effect the quality of life of the people.

Architecture will always express the technical and social progress of the country in which it is carried out. If we wish to give it the human content that it lacks, we must participate in the political struggle.

My greatest work comes in the community.

If you give me Times Square, I want to give it back to the people.

If the private sectors are about markets and the public sectors are about governments, then the plural sector is about communities.

We can't talk about community values without being prepared to invest in those very same communities.

It should not be a favor to provide a kindergarten to a community, nor a playground. To win hearts and minds — you are not going to buy that with a soccer field, for goodness sake. This should go without saying.

The general public, formerly profoundly indifferent to everything to do with building, has been shaken out of its torpor; personal interest in architecture as something that concerns every one of us in our daily lives has been very widely aroused; and the broad line of its future development are already clearly discernible.

My studio's passion is improving the public experience of cities for everyone.

Having been a mayor, we prioritized based on where we want our city and our country to go.

I just want to be a better person to the community.

I'm big on my community and want to stay that way.

We're planting trees to break up the concrete jungle. We're building public transportation and affordable housing.

City of Los Angeles is my home, and it is my duty to lead by example, contribute all that I can, and help make the world a better place with the tools and resources available to me.

Since the Beijing Olympics in 2008, our office has been discussing how we can make architecture more human and at one with nature. We need to ask ourselves, what legacy do we want to leave behind on humankind's urban culture?

I started my career as an urban planner, working for the city, doing what I would call 'do-gooder' things, particularly for low-income neighborhoods.